Choosing Your Artist Name

As a label owner, there are certain issues I deal with on a pretty regular basis. One of these is Artists names. Now to understand why it can be such a problem, you don’t have to look any farther than the large digital download stores such as Beatport and Traxsource. Have you ever listened to an artists catalogue and stumbled upon music that is just clearly not the artists you were listening to? This is most likely due to someone looking to steal some sales off the association or because they simply didn’t take the time to check and see if the name was already taken.

With more producers cropping up every week, it is essential you try to remain original and take the time to check the availability of the name before you start releasing under it. Think of your name as the first introduction to your audience. To be frank, there are artists we have refused to work with because of their names (either extremely unprofessional or offensive). You should also consider the fact, you want people to actually be able to find YOUR music. If you are producing Deep House, you definitely don’t want your music going on another persons Beatport page that makes Trance. My best advice, use your Original name or a variation of it.

On a side note, if you find another person has started using your artists name, you should contact the label the music was released under as well as the artist themselves if you can find them and ask them to change their name. You can also ask a label you work with for assistance.